Book cover



await/+52 EKR Filed Oct. 23, 1962 INVENTOR RALPH L. ANTHO 141 T ORNEYS ("K Ems-s I 5 3 tired States Patent 3,140,883 BOOK COVER Ralph L. Anthony, 759 Walnut St., Waukegan, Ill. Filed Oct. 23, 1962, Ser. No. 232,538 6 Claims. (Cl. 281-34) This invention relates to a book cover and more particularly to a book cover having an integral place marker and magnifying lens.

Some books, such as telephone books, are provided with flexible paper covers and during use, the covers often become torn and soiled. The present invention is directed to a book cover for a telephone book or the like which is made from a sheet of flexible sheet material in a single forming operationf More specifically, the cover of the invention is provided with pockets or flaps which receive the covers of the book and a strip of transparent flexible material is attached to the top edge of the cover and serves as a placemarker.

The marker is provided with a sealed compartment which is adapted to contain advertising or pertinent information. In addition, the free end of the marker is provided with a second sealed pocket and a plastic magnifying lens is sealed within the pocket. As the marker strip is flexible, the magnifying lens can be moved up and down the page as desired to provide magnification for the telephone listings or other material on the page of the book.

The book cover serves to protect the book and can be readily washed or cleaned.

As the protective cover is preferably made of a transparent material, the cover page of the book is readily visible.

The sealed pocket in the marker strip is adapted to contain advertising or other pertinent information or technical data, such as the police or fire department telephone numbers etc. As this information is associated with the marker strip, it will be readily available.

The magnifying lens, which is attached to the marker strip, is adapted to be run across the pages of the book so that the material on the page can be magnified if desired. The magnifying lens is preferably formed of a flat plastic material so that when the book is closed, no hump will result, and this is a definite advantage when the books are stacked together.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the course of the following description.

The drawings illustrate the best mode presently contemplated of carrying out the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the book cover as associated with a closed book;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the book cover associated with an open book;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the book cover itself;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the plastic magnifying lens; and

FIG. 5 is an end view of the magnifying lens.

The drawings illustrate a book cover 1 which is attached to a book 2, such as a telephone book or the like.

The cover 1 includes a backing sheet or jacket 3 and a pair of flaps 4 which are secured to the side edges of the backing sheet to provide pockets which receive the covers of the book 2. In addition, a second flap 5 may be attached to one or both sides of the backing sheet and provides, in combination with flap 4, a second pocket into which papers, pencils or other material can be inserted.

A place marking strip 6, preferably formed of a flexible, transparent plastic material, is attached to the top edge of the backing sheet 3: The marker 6 is formed of two sheets of material which define pocket 7 adapted 'ice to contain advertising material or other pertinent information. For example, if the book covers are to be distributed to a given area or neighborhood, the pocket 7 may contain a listing of various merchants in the area. In addition, pertinent information, such as the telephone humbers of the family doctor, the police department, fire department, etc., can be inserted within the pocket 7. The free end of the marker'strip 6 is enlarged, as shown at 8, and provided with a second sealed pocket which receives a magnifying lens 9. The magnifying lens 9 is best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and is formed of a flat sheet of flexible plastic material provided with a plurality of ridges which emanate outwardly from the center of the lens in a generally concentric pattern. The structure of the lens '9 is not in itself new, but the lens being fiat makes it particularly adaptable for use in the invention. The long dimension of the lens 9 extends generally parallel to the longitudinal edges of the backing sheet 3, and the lens'is adapted to be run up and down and across the pages of the book to magnify information contained on the pages. As previously mentioned, the book cover is particularly useful with a telephone book, and the magnifying lens 9 is provided with a length which is slightly greater than the length of the columns on the telephonebook pages... -As the marker strip 6 is of a flexible material, the lens can be readily moved up and down entire page, and due to the resilient nature of the strip, the marker will spring back to its original flat position when the lens is released. V

As best shown in-EIG .13,"the strip 6 has a length so that the outer end of the enlarged head 8 of the strip projects outwardly beyond the backing sheet 3 so that the portion 8 will extend out of the book pages when the book is closed, and thus the position of the marker can be readily seen.

In fabricating the cover of the invention, the separate end flaps 4 are initially positioned on the backing sheet 3. In addition, an end of the preassembled marker 6 is also positioned on the top edge of the backing sheet 3 with the marker extending outwardly of the sheet. The flaps 4 and marker 6 are then heat sealed to the backing sheet 3 in a single operation.

The book cover of the invention is sturdy and serves to protect the book from rough handling and soiling. As the cover and marker are formed in a single operation, the overall cost of the cover is minimized.

The place marker 6 not only serves to mark a given place in the book, but also is provided with a pocket to receive advertising and other pertinent information. In addition, the magnifying lens is associated with the strip and can be readily run up and down the page as needed. As the lens 9 is of thin sheet material, the book can be closed without the lens providing a lump in the closed book.

While the lens 9 has been described as being rectangular and having a length greater than the width of strip 6, it is contemplated that the lens carnhaye any desired configuration, such as square, circular, triangular The marker strip 6 may also be formed as a single sheet and the pocket 7 eliminated. In this case the advertising material would be printed directly on the strip 6, rather than enclosing the printed advertising in pocket 7, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost.

Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as being within the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as the invention.

l. A book cover comprising, a backing sheet having end pockets to receive the covers of a book, a marker strip having one end attached to the backing sheet and the other end being free, said strip having a length greater than the width of the backing sheet so that said other end of the strip will project outwardly of the book when the book is in the closed position, said strip including a transparent pocket, and a thin magnifying lens disposed within the pocket and adapted to be moved across the pages of the book to magnify portions thereof.

2. The structure of claim 1, in which said magnifying lens is a thin sheet of plastic and is provided with a series of concentric ridges emanating from the central portion of said lens.

3. A book cover, comprising a backing sheet having side edges and top and bottom edges, a fiap connected to each side edge and connected to a portion of the top and bottom edge, said flaps defining pockets with the backing sheets to receive the covers of the book, a marker strip having one end connected to the top edge of the backing sheet and having a length slightly greater than the distance from said top edge to the bottom edge so that the opposite end of the strip will project outwardly of the book when the book is closed, said opposite end being enlarged in width to provide said strip with an inverted T-shape and said opposite end having a transparent pocket, and a thin magnifying lens disposed within the pocket and adapted to be moved across the pages of the book to magnify portions thereof.

4. A book cover, comprising a backing sheet having side edges and top and bottom edges, a flap connected to each side edge and connected to a portion of the top and bottom edge, said flap defining pockets with the backing sheet to receive the covers of the book, a marker strip including a stem portion connected to the top edge of the backing sheet and including a head portion formed integrally with the stern portion and having a greater width than said stem portion, said stem portion having a pocket with a transparent window adapted to contain pertinent information and said head portion having a second pocket with a pair of opposite windows, and a thin magnifying lens disposed in said second pocket and adapted to be moved across the pages of the book to magnify portions thereof.

5. A book cover comprising a backing sheet having a pair of opposite end edges and a top edge and a bottom edge, an end pocket associated with each end edge of the backing sheet to receive the covers of a book, a flexible marker strip having one end attached to the top edge of the backing sheet and the other end of the strip being free and extending to a location adjacent the bottom edge, and a thin magnifying lens associated with said free end of the marker strip and extending outwardly beyond said bottom edge when said marker strip is disposed flatwise with respect to the backing sheet, said magnifying lens adapted to be moved across the pages of the book to magnify portions thereof.

6. A book cover comprising a backing sheet having a pair of opposed first edges and a pair of opposed second edges, an end pocket associated with each first edge of the backing sheet to receive the covers of a book, a flexible marker strip having one end attached to one of the second edges of the backing sheet and the other end being free and extending to a position adjacent the other of said second edges, and a thin plastic magnifying lens associated with said free end of the marker strip, said lens having a substantially greater width than the strip and only a portion of the lens projecting outwardly beyond said other second edge, said lens adapted to be moved across the pages of a book to magnify portions thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 59,773 Ralf Nov. 22, 1921 2,249,053 Smith July 15, 1941 2,473,175 Baukus Aug. 9, 1949 2,510,344 Law June 6, 1950 2,964,010 Harrison Dec. 13, 1960 

1. A BOOK COVER COMPRISING, A BACKING SHEET HAVING END POCKETS TO RECEIVE THE COVERS OF A BOOK, A MARKER STRIP HAVING ONE END ATTACHED TO THE BACKING SHEET AND THE OTHER END BEING FREE, SAID STRIP HAVING A LENGTH GREATER THAN THE WIDTH OF THE BACKING SHEET SO THAT SAID OTHER END OF THE STRIP WILL PROJECT OUTWARDLY OF THE BOOK WHEN THE BOOK IS IN THE CLOSED POSITION, SAID STRIP INCLUDING A TRANSPARENT POCKET, AND A THIN MAGNIFYING LENS DISPOSED WITHIN THE POCKET AND ADAPTED TO BE MOVED ACROSS THE PAGES OF THE BOOK TO MAGNIFY PORTIONS THEREOF. 